Is it being alone, or the feeling of being lonely? These two things are not synonymous.

And to quote a line from one of Sartre's plays: "Hell is other people".

Even for those that enjoy being alone and choose to be alone, by isolating themselves they will lose social skills, lose contact with ppl that care for them etc and unwittingly cause themselves to develop depression even if they don't realize that they have depression because they think they have chosen to be alone or prefer it...

So what is a person like when they supposedly have depression but don't feel depressed?

If they are a Buddhist it means they are not depressed, but western conventional society cannot understand their worldview and thinks they should be depressed. If you live according to the dhamma, isolation does not cause depression. The goal of conventional society is to ensure you are a contributing member, if that is impaired you are expected to be depressed. The goal of the dhamma is freedom from suffering; the process of transition from one goal to the other involves periods of isolation just as natural metamorphosis involves time in a cocoon. In Thailand laypeople can drop out and spend time in a monastery at any period of their life.

“Renouncing violence
for all living beings,
harming not even a one,
you would not wish for offspring,
so how a companion?
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros." etc.—-Sutta Nipata 1.3

I disagree with this article. Being a loner is almost always bad, unless you're already well on the path to enlightenment or at the goal, or unless all of the people around you are horrible. Even in the case of the latter, loneliness is more of the lesser of two evils than any actual good. Just my opinion.

I disagree with this article. Being a loner is almost always bad, unless you're already well on the path to enlightenment or at the goal, or unless all of the people around you are horrible. Even in the case of the latter, loneliness is more of the lesser of two evils than any actual good. Just my opinion.

You're still conflating loneliness and being alone. These are not the same thing. You can feel lonely in a crowd, in a social group, or even in a marriage.